Unidentified miscreants tried to disturb communal harmony in temple town Ayodhya by throwing objectionable items in front of the gate of two mosques on Wednesday morning.
The sinister move was however foiled by prompt police action as officers rushed to the spot and removed the items immediately.
Later, top officers held meetings with senior religious leaders and assured them of strict action and booking of the accused under National Security Act (NSA).
The police also collected CCTV footages and were examining them to identify the culprits.
Secretary of Waqf Jama Masjid Tatshah of Kotwali Nagar area informed the police that the mosque staff opened the south gate for morning prayers around 2 am on Tuesday, and noticed four persons on two bikes heading towards the west gate. On a closer look at the steps of the mosque, the staff found religious text lying torn. Also some pieces of meat and a poster containing abusive words about Mohammad Saheb was also found. The incident was captured in the CCTV of the mosque.
Around the same time, similar material was found lying in Mohalla Kashmiri Masjid and Ghosiana locality, after which the caretakers complained to the police.
Alerted by the input about anti-socials trying to disturb communal harmony in the district, SSP of Ayodhya, Shailesh Pandey, District Magistrate Nitish Kumar reached the spot along with senior officers and started a probe. The top district officials later met with religious Muslim leaders in the mosque premises and appealed for cooperation, assuring them of stringent action against the perpetrators. The clerics assured them of maintaining peace and harmony in the area and to cooperate with the administration to bring the culprits to book. Half a dozen probe teams have been formed to arrest the accused at earliest.
Besides the mosque, the cops were also taking help of CCTV footage installed at all shops, houses, squares etc. around the mosque.
Meanwhile, Divisional Commissioner Navdeep Rinwa and Inspector General Kavinder Pratap Singh also reached the mosques and interacted with religious leaders and assured to expose the mischief soon.